11 August 2015 (Tuesday) - Ultrasounds, Rants

A few days ago I sent the leccie and gas meter readings in to the power company. From being comfortably in credit I suddenly went to being overdrawn. Over brekkie I checked my emails to see that they've reviewed my readings and decided not to change my monthly payments at all. I wonder what that was all about.
I then spent a little while feeling jealous. Some geocaching pals are currently on holiday in Vancouver. It's a lovely place. I've been there twice with the scouts and had plans to go back there again when finances allowed. Unfortunately I doubt they ever will now.

I set off to work through the rain. Today was rather damp. I can't really complain; the weather's been really good recently but there are so many who never seem to remember the weeks of sunshine.
As I drove the radio was fussing about the price of milk. Apparently there is consternation because milk is being sold in supermarkets for less than it costs to produce the stuff and consequently milk producers are going out of business. I can't see how this works. Surely market forces would prevent this if people truly want millk? Or (just perhaps) the entire concept of "market forces" on which our capitalist society is founded is seriously flawed?
Something else which is seriously flawed is the way in which people from overseas are entitled to no end of benefit handouts. For all that the Government are trying to stop this, it turns out that the only way to prevent it happening is to cut all benefits to everyone. Apparently it is illegal to give handouts to deserving British citizens (who have lived in the UK) for years and not to those who've just arrived because that is discriminatory...

I got to work, and for the morning I was "sexy office girl"; a role at which I was surprisingly good. At mid day I left and went to another hospital where I had an appointment.
Some months ago I went to my G.P. about a lump in my neck under my chin. A couple of months ago I saw the cancer specialist at the hospital who referred me for an ultrasound guided aspiration of the lump. That took place a little while ago; at the time the ultrasonographer had a good scan all round the sides of my neck. He was especially thorough, but after some fifteen minutes I suggested he might like to have a zap at my windpipe (which is where the lump was). He declined; apparently air-filled structures don't respond to ultrasound visualisations. The fact that my lump is actually up against my windpipe (hence the pain on swallowing) didn't cut any ice with this chap. He assured me that a palpable lump is probably "referred pain".
After a lot of ultrasounding he announced that I had some lymph nodes in the side of my neck and asked if they were troublesome; I said no. He said that I'd come to have an ultrasound-guided aspiration and so he was going to aspirate those nodes. I suggested he might prefer to aspirate the lump I'd actually complained about in the first place, but his mind was made up.
It turned out that the aspiration of the nodes which seemed to be fine was inconclusive, so the specialist sent me back to the ultrasonographer for an ultrasound-guided biopsy today. After a little waiting around the chap had a good scan all around the sides of my neck again and announced that the nodes he was worried aboout a month ago are now insignificant. He said they were too small to biopsy; apparently the dangers of doing so outweighed any potential benefits (the BMA frown on mishaps involving the jugular vein).

So I've had the all-clear. But...

It's an all-clear on someething that was never actually a problem in the first place. The lump under my neck still hurts when I swallow. I have another appointment with the specialist in a fortnight or so. I'll see if I can get him to have a look at the lump about which I went to him in the first place...

Perhaps I should have gone back to work after the appointment but I came home; I wasn't feeling up to being sociable. I took "Furry Face TM" for a walk to gather my thoughts, and as I walked so my piss boiled.
The shop over the road was having a delivery of crisps. Only the van delivering the crisps wasn't a crisps van. It was from a "specialist in retail snacking solutions".
And then not fifty yards up the roaad a council van pulled up. This van had an equally ludicrous title emblazoned over it. "Bus stop cleaner" would have been a more apt description.
Personally I would have thought that bus stop maintenance would have been down to the bus companies but it's not. Bus stop maintenance is something the council contract out.

We didn't walk for long, and once home I dozed in front of the telly. I'd only had an ultrasound zap of the neck but I felt drained.
I could have gone out to the Tuesday gathering this evening but what with my experiences of the day I wasn't feeling up to the late night. Instead I stayed home and slobbed in front of the telly. James Bond is on in a minute. I shall sleep through that...

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